• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

LemonWedge 470 build thread

I purchased the intake gaskets that TrickFlow suggests. While I’m sure the superformance gaskets are superior to these FelPros, I’ll most likely just use them.

Great news, got a call from my machinist. Crank is done. Hone is done. He’s now moving on to balancing and mocking everything up before handing it back to me for assembly. Slight issue though….. He is not comfortable with the piston clearance he’s seeing after hone @ .007. I would agree that number is excessive and could cause ring seal issues and potential skirt issues from excessive piston rock. Called the guys at Line to Line piston coatings. They say they can hit any number I want within a tolerance of .0005. So I’m thinking the pistons will go the to them For .0025 coating, to land on .0045 clearance. Thoughts?

High Performance Race Engine Coatings | 248-625-3052 | Line2Line

Anybody here used this process in the past? If so, what was your results?
Line to Line is local to me. I know plenty who have coated pistons with no issues. My sons new engine had coated pistons from them for the same reason.
Doug
 
Oh darned, I wrote this yesterday, forgot to post it. Haha. Read on.. Good job LW. Getting every pony out that you can. A method that I have used is to drill a 1/8” hole and pin & tape the gasket in place on the heads after the heads are port matched. The intake gets adhesive spray and bolted down on as soon as sprayed. Let it set up good. Pull out the small rivet nails in the 1/8th holes and remove the intake. The gasket is stuck to the manifold. Flip over and see where the intake needs matching to the gasket.
 
Home again, home again; jigidy jog.
Pistons are off to Line2Line. This deal is finally about to pick up some progress.

33EA05DC-2F83-4435-97C1-9ED5795D0B92.png
 
Last edited:
I’m going to preface this post by stating that I am in no way a skilled porter. I’m a guy that simply learns as I go by hacking on my own junk. With that said: After nearly 8 hrs working with this Indy intake, I’m calling it “good enough”. I am also going to state that I wish I had sent it back to Indy and asked for another one before I took a burr to it. I do realize that I’m mating two parts from differing manufacturers, neither of which claim to be a stock size port configuration. So it’s not reasonable to expect the Indy 400-4 intake to just match up to the TrickFlow 270 port with any degree of accuracy. However, the core shift in this intake is was severe. At some ports they were already past the gasket on one side, while being a full 1/8” shy on the other. The worrysome thing is it doesn‘t appear that it’s consistent from one corner to another. I did my best, but didn‘t go too far into the ports because one side called for no work at all, while the other needed a meat grinder, and I didn’t want to create a velocity pocket. Also, the port walls were horribly un-flat near the openings. In some spots, my straight burr would touch at the mouth, touch the floor about 3/4” in, but have a big gap at the 3/8” mark. Next port would be the opposite; tons of meat would need to come out at about 1/2” in to get the port straight. Lastly, at one side of the carburetor pad, the flange encroached into the carburetors barrels badly. On the other side, all good. All in all, I’m less than impressed with the quality of my first Indy purchase. I’ve worked this same drill on Edelbrock intakes and an M1 in the past. My memory is that they were much more consistent than this piece. I’m hopeful that someday soon Trickflow will cast a piece to match up to the 270 port.

FCE46442-1369-4C48-B46A-3A47272E9012.jpeg


E5749FFF-8F76-45AC-84C0-79A06D6F2215.jpeg


3D3BB1D5-918B-4891-964E-997C4CBFD2FE.jpeg


EC558CB5-2C62-462A-9171-FE4D6F140F14.jpeg


9ADC7AA6-F822-4D7A-830B-3AA909FC0FA4.jpeg


3487CA6D-681A-4F8E-B0B1-B8CE958A05CA.jpeg
 
I’m going to preface this post by stating that I am in no way a skilled porter. I’m a guy that simply learns as I go by hacking on my own junk. With that said: After nearly 8 hrs working with this Indy intake, I’m calling it “good enough”. I am also going to state that I wish I had sent it back to Indy and asked for another one before I took a burr to it. I do realize that I’m mating two parts from differing manufacturers, neither of which claim to be a stock size port configuration. So it’s not reasonable to expect the Indy 400-4 intake to just match up to the TrickFlow 270 port with any degree of accuracy. However, the core shift in this intake is was severe. At some ports they were already past the gasket on one side, while being a full 1/8” shy on the other. The worrysome thing is it doesn‘t appear that it’s consistent from one corner to another. I did my best, but didn‘t go too far into the ports because one side called for no work at all, while the other needed a meat grinder, and I didn’t want to create a velocity pocket. Also, the port walls were horribly un-flat near the openings. In some spots, my straight burr would touch at the mouth, touch the floor about 3/4” in, but have a big gap at the 3/8” mark. Next port would be the opposite; tons of meat would need to come out at about 1/2” in to get the port straight. Lastly, at one side of the carburetor pad, the flange encroached into the carburetors barrels badly. On the other side, all good. All in all, I’m less than impressed with the quality of my first Indy purchase. I’ve worked this same drill on Edelbrock intakes and an M1 in the past. My memory is that they were much more consistent than this piece. I’m hopeful that someday soon Trickflow will cast a piece to match up to the 270 port.

View attachment 1413386

View attachment 1413387

View attachment 1413388

View attachment 1413389

View attachment 1413390

View attachment 1413391
—-
It’s how we all learn and there’s nothing wrong with what you’ve posted. Getting the short side under the top plenum rounded out into the runners is where there’s always HP.
 
Thanks for the post @LemonWedge.
There are wide-ranging, non-specific reasons why I have great interest in your whole car setup and results (other than it wearing the best color paint) :)
Regarding an Indy intake, porting, TF 270s, and MaxWedge port size, I discussed the job of porting the Indy ModMan I'm getting w/my builder and did he want to do it or should I have Indy do it since they've already got a CNC program for the intake and taking it out to MW port size. The price Indy charges seems very reasonable. Of course the runners are short, so there's not a lot to the task from my inexperienced perspective. I hope everything lines up for me. The "Rectangular Aluminum Shoebox" isn't so much a performance driven choice as it is a 1: "MUST be a 6bbl" and (everything below #1) "I'd like to keep my N96 Air Grabber in some form or another"
After much grimacing, nightmares, and gnashing of teeth, I have consigned myself to the ModMan 6bbl being the obvious choice to start, and hopefully stay with....And now after all that, our very own Doug posts pictures of what I thought was impossible! In the "Who's doing what in the off season" thread,
@dvw has made a ModMan look like WAY more than an open rectangle that gives ya something to mount the carburetors to!!
Stock "Shoebox"
Screenshot_20230205_220154_Gallery.jpg


...and what may be found to be a "Magnificent Magic Box of Massive MOPAR Motivation"
Screenshot_20230205_220241_Gallery.jpg

My post was inspired by your "Indy intake core shift and porting for TF 270s post" but I thank you in advance for allowing me to "over-post" in response.
:blah::thankyou::luvplace::moparsmiley::thumbsup:
 
I’m going to preface this post by stating that I am in no way a skilled porter. I’m a guy that simply learns as I go by hacking on my own junk. With that said: After nearly 8 hrs working with this Indy intake, I’m calling it “good enough”. I am also going to state that I wish I had sent it back to Indy and asked for another one before I took a burr to it. I do realize that I’m mating two parts from differing manufacturers, neither of which claim to be a stock size port configuration. So it’s not reasonable to expect the Indy 400-4 intake to just match up to the TrickFlow 270 port with any degree of accuracy. However, the core shift in this intake is was severe. At some ports they were already past the gasket on one side, while being a full 1/8” shy on the other. The worrysome thing is it doesn‘t appear that it’s consistent from one corner to another. I did my best, but didn‘t go too far into the ports because one side called for no work at all, while the other needed a meat grinder, and I didn’t want to create a velocity pocket. Also, the port walls were horribly un-flat near the openings. In some spots, my straight burr would touch at the mouth, touch the floor about 3/4” in, but have a big gap at the 3/8” mark. Next port would be the opposite; tons of meat would need to come out at about 1/2” in to get the port straight. Lastly, at one side of the carburetor pad, the flange encroached into the carburetors barrels badly. On the other side, all good. All in all, I’m less than impressed with the quality of my first Indy purchase. I’ve worked this same drill on Edelbrock intakes and an M1 in the past. My memory is that they were much more consistent than this piece. I’m hopeful that someday soon Trickflow will cast a piece to match up to the 270 port.

Plenum.jpg


Mine was the same when when I bought it. I really wish the new owners would fix their casting mold as this has been an issue forever. I had Larry Smith do mine and he did an awesome job of cleaning everything up and getting the match spot on. He also cleaned up the carb opening so that it is was the same size as a standard Holley gasket. I've since had it JetHot coated as well so it will be easier to keep clean and will shed some heat to help with keeping the fuel cooler.
 
View attachment 1413547

Mine was the same when when I bought it. I really wish the new owners would fix their casting mold as this has been an issue forever. I had Larry Smith do mine and he did an awesome job of cleaning everything up and getting the match spot on. He also cleaned up the carb opening so that it is was the same size as a standard Holley gasket. I've since had it JetHot coated as well so it will be easier to keep clean and will shed some heat to help with keeping the fuel cooler.
——
A good looking job right there. Were you able to track the before and after difference? Anyone ever notice how guys that build race motors, experienced racers, porters, how they so casually reach in and give the flange short radius’s a feel? There’s something to that.

Not so long ago I was reading some threads on intake porting on dominator flange intakes. There sure were a lot of comments advising to leave the clover leaf alone. Several saying they did more harm than good and noted both the time slip and dyno. I found that interesting.
 
Here are the bolts I'm going to switch to using on my Indy intake. The inside 1's are hard to get a regular hex bolt into

0207231959.jpg
 
I'm going to attempt to smooth the inside of my intake out some.

0207231957.jpg
 
——
A good looking job right there. Were you able to track the before and after difference? Anyone ever notice how guys that build race motors, experienced racers, porters, how they so casually reach in and give the flange short radius’s a feel? There’s something to that.

Not so long ago I was reading some threads on intake porting on dominator flange intakes. There sure were a lot of comments advising to leave the clover leaf alone. Several saying they did more harm than good and noted both the time slip and dyno. I found that interesting.
I did not track before and after. I talked with Larry Smith who did the port work and relied on his expertise/experience with all of the customers he has had over the years with the Indy 4150 max wedge intake. He cleaned it up, matched all the runners and port matched it based on his history with it, and I am hoping it pays the right dividends. :)
I can say that from a fuel distribution perspective his work seems pretty solid. All my plugs read remarkably close unlike my previous manifold that had two fat cylinders that I assume came from puddling and poor atomization. I am only hoping that I didn't change that for the manifold as a whole by having it jet-hot coated. Only time will tell once I get the motor back together.
 
Thanks for the post @LemonWedge.
There are wide-ranging, non-specific reasons why I have great interest in your whole car setup and results (other than it wearing the best color paint) :)
Regarding an Indy intake, porting, TF 270s, and MaxWedge port size, I discussed the job of porting the Indy ModMan I'm getting w/my builder and did he want to do it or should I have Indy do it since they've already got a CNC program for the intake and taking it out to MW port size. The price Indy charges seems very reasonable. Of course the runners are short, so there's not a lot to the task from my inexperienced perspective. I hope everything lines up for me. The "Rectangular Aluminum Shoebox" isn't so much a performance driven choice as it is a 1: "MUST be a 6bbl" and (everything below #1) "I'd like to keep my N96 Air Grabber in some form or another"
After much grimacing, nightmares, and gnashing of teeth, I have consigned myself to the ModMan 6bbl being the obvious choice to start, and hopefully stay with....And now after all that, our very own Doug posts pictures of what I thought was impossible! In the "Who's doing what in the off season" thread,
@dvw has made a ModMan look like WAY more than an open rectangle that gives ya something to mount the carburetors to!!
Stock "Shoebox"
View attachment 1413535

...and what may be found to be a "Magnificent Magic Box of Massive MOPAR Motivation"
View attachment 1413536
My post was inspired by your "Indy intake core shift and porting for TF 270s post" but I thank you in advance for allowing me to "over-post" in response.
:blah::thankyou::luvplace::moparsmiley::thumbsup:
I ported heads and intakes for a lot of years. This is some next level work here.
 
I am anxiously awaiting @dvw report on that amazing "version" of the ModMan.

Agreed. DVW’s work is over the top and that intake he’s working on will be no exception.

Speaking of intake work, I’ve spent lots of time inside my cross ram too. Fortunately for me, I had guidance and lots of pictures to refer to from a friend who has an LO23 car and decades of go fast hemi experience. A couple of pics but talking about pooling, pretty hard to get away from with a flat bottom intake. Another thing that I have with this is a surge that develops under 1500 rpm. When it first fires it surges like there’s a blower under the hood for a bit). Although I’ve still got some upgrades to do on the 770’s, which should help lots. With lots of camshaft, at 1500 it’s certainly not a girly cam (as my motor builder/dyno guy says).
17569CA1-BEC2-4F52-9D7A-0980EBB9C778.jpeg
 
I can not take credit for the intake work. It's my son and friend Sean dreamed up scheme.
Doug
 
I can not take credit for the intake work. It's my son and friend Sean dreamed up scheme.
Doug
Please let us know as much as you can about its performance. I'd love to have my ModMan worked over into something other than a shoebox. I don't see how that's not going to perform, but then again, who knows?
 
I’m eager to see a report from Doug as well once the season gets rolling. Your sons work, huh DVW? What’s that saying about the apple and the tree??
 
Talked with Chris at Line2Line West today. They have received my pistons. Looking forward to seeing them after the coating process. In the meantime this weekend, I’ll look to get everything clean and the cam and crank laid in.
 
Agreed. DVW’s work is over the top and that intake he’s working on will be no exception.

Speaking of intake work, I’ve spent lots of time inside my cross ram too. Fortunately for me, I had guidance and lots of pictures to refer to from a friend who has an LO23 car and decades of go fast hemi experience. A couple of pics but talking about pooling, pretty hard to get away from with a flat bottom intake. Another thing that I have with this is a surge that develops under 1500 rpm. When it first fires it surges like there’s a blower under the hood for a bit). Although I’ve still got some upgrades to do on the 770’s, which should help lots. With lots of camshaft, at 1500 it’s certainly not a girly cam (as my motor builder/dyno guy says).
View attachment 1414991
That looks sweet. You could mount some flat 1/2 inch lexan on it them bolt on the carbs. Up to 2500/3000 you can watch it pulsing and locate wet spots. Usually a slight rough up will be break it up. The only real place I see as a puddle spot is what I assume to be sunken allen bolts. Looks like the center port Is a balance port between The banks. my motor has a 5500 rpm cam and head. I highly doubt I’ll be getting one of these bits of engine ****. But a man can dream.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top